1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to residential alarm or security systems and, more specifically, to such systems that provide voice communication between the monitoring service and the monitored premises and involve radio communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Security systems, also referred to as alarm systems, monitor a home or other premises against intrusion as well as fire or other emergency. When the alarm is activated, the base unit in the monitored premises telephones a monitoring service and transmits codes to indicate that a break-in or other emergency has been detected. Some alarm systems transmit to a monitoring service via radio. Alarm systems can have contact sensors to detect opening of doors and windows, glass-breakage sensors, and infrared or ultrasonic motion detectors. Triggering of any of these sensors activates the alarm. Some security systems have so-called panic buttons by which an occupant of the monitored premises can manually activate the alarm. In some alarm systems, the panic button is on a pendant that an occupant of the monitored premises can wear around his or her neck or otherwise carry. The pendant transmits a signal to the base unit if the wearer activates the panic button.
In response to the telephone call, personnel at the monitoring station can telephone the premises at which the call originated and attempt to speak with an occupant to verify the nature of the emergency. The monitoring service personnel may request that the occupant say a secret code to indicate that the occupant is a person authorized to speak with the monitoring service. The monitoring service may dispatch emergency personnel, such as police, to the premises. If the person states that the alarm was triggered inadvertently, and the code matches one the monitoring service has on file for that premises, the monitoring personnel may log the incident as a false alarm and take no further action.
Some alarm systems have a voice transmission feature. When the alarm is activated, microphones in the premises pick up any voices or noises in the vicinity, which the base unit transmits to the monitoring service to help monitoring personnel ascertain the nature of the emergency.
A deficiency in such prior alarm systems is that the process of alerting monitoring personnel and dispatching emergency personnel such as police to the premises can be relatively slow. Furthermore, telephone lines, through which most commercially available alarm systems provide communication between the base units and monitoring station, are susceptible to being cut or otherwise disabled by persons intent upon isolating the premises to avoid being detected. Although some alarm systems may have the capability to avoid reliance upon telephone lines by providing radio communication, such systems are uncommon. Moreover, in a small percentage of instances, personnel at a remote monitoring station fail to take proper action to handle the emergency.
It would be desirable to provide an alarm system that minimizes reliance upon a central monitoring service and that promotes the rapid arrival of help to the monitored premises. The present invention addresses this problem and others in the manner described below.